The invention relates to a nipple for drinking vessels, especially for baby bottles. These nipples consist of an elastic material, for example rubber or silicone, and can be attached to baby bottles or other drinking vessels. Preferably these nipples are used for feeding infants or small children.
Generically comparable nipples have been known for a long time. Thus, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,568 describes a nipple with a separating membrane which has an I-, X- or Y-shaped cut. Pressure on the separating membrane yields a milk sucking hole. U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,568 furthermore shows that the separating membrane is located in an inwardly pointed recess in the area of the front end of the nipple. This also results in the baby bottle or the nipple's not leaking (so-called “no spill” property). When the nipple is not suitably positioned in the mouth of the infant, emergence of liquid during drinking can be insufficient. Furthermore, especially in nipples with X- or Y-shaped notches it has been found that the nipple no longer meets the higher and higher demands for no-spill properties or does so only with difficulty.